Monday, December 08, 2014

Steve Anderson, the pastor of Arizona's Faithful Word Baptist Church, has caused shock and revulsion for his recent claim that the AIDS crisis would end if gays were executed. However through it all, folks are missing a point that only us wonky individuals would bring up.

In 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center listed Anderson's church as an anti-gay hate group along with several other organizations. Of course much of the attention following this announcement had to do with the other groups SPLC listed, particularly the Family Research Council and the American Family Association.

In fact, it caused such a stir that FRC began a campaign entitled Start Debating, Stop Hating. Through this campaign, the group claimed that SPLC was trying to 'silence' Christian groups:

The surest sign one is losing a debate is to resort to character
assassination. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal fundraising
machine whose tactics have been condemned by observers across the
political spectrum, is doing just that.

The group, which was once known for combating racial bigotry, is now
attacking several groups that uphold Judeo-Christian moral views,
including marriage as the union of a man and a woman. How does the SPLC attack? By labeling its opponents "hate groups." No
discussion. No consideration of the issues. No engagement. No debate!

FRC did not differentiate between itself and other organizations named as anti-gay hate groups. However the organization did run a full page ad in Politico. According to Talking Points Memo, several Republican leaders signed on to this ad:

The ad is undersigned by a number of leading Republican politicians,
social conservative and mainstream alike: House Minority Leader John
Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), Rep. Michele
Bachmann (R-MN), Sen, Jim DeMint (R-SC), Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA), Rep.
Steve King (R-IA), and even Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

I should also point out that SPLC received considerable criticism from many circles for supposedly attacking "Christian groups."

So what's the point with me bringing all of this up? Certainly not to imply that FRC believes that gays should be executed. However, it should be noted that FRC is tacitly silent about Anderson and his church right now, both of which the organization defended in 2010, as are the Republican leaders who supported FRC's campaign back then.

And it should also be noted that Anderson's recent homophobic spew only proves SPLC's point about anti-gay hate groups who hide their vindictive nature behind "Judeo-Christian" beliefs. And also that SPLC was not trying to "silence Christians."

Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council comes another lie about the repeal of DADT:

President Obama may have admitted that sexual assault is a serious
problem in the military -- but what he hasn’t conceded are that his own
policies have helped create it. For the past few years, the Pentagon has
downplayed the effects of open homosexuality sexuality and the addition
of women on the front lines. But it will have a tough time doing that
now with the rate of male-on-male assault at its highest levels. A
stunning 3,840 military men were raped last year, headlines screamed.

While outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel insists the military had
made “real progress” on the problem, the latest numbers certainly don’t
bear that out. The total number of sexual assaults (at least the known
cases) actually climbed by another eight percent -- a statistic the
administration pins on better reporting, not an actual spike in abuse.
Either way, the message is clear: there has been a significant change in
military culture, and reversing those trends will be nearly impossible
with the radical sexualization of our forces.

“Almost 6,000 victims reported a sexual assault in 2014, up
from 5,500 last year, according to the report… only 1 in 10 victims
reported a sexual crime in 2012, compared to 1 in 4 this year.” And
while the media is adept at burying the story, the real scoop is that in
Rand Corporation’s survey “more than half of the victims are men.”

The White House has spent Barack Obama’s entire presidency turning
the military into a social experiment, beginning with the repeal of
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Of course, what’s interesting about these
statistics is that they were released at a time when the military is
having trouble finding new recruits. Fewer people see the military as a “good choice” for their future. And given these statistics, it’s not difficult to see why.

In their attempts to blame the repeal of DADT for the sexual assaults of men in the military, Perkins and company are pushing ignorant ideas about sexual assault itself.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.